Catching Up

Kansas, I miss you already. Minus the chigger bites and ticks. And 100 degree weather. Other than that, though... there really is no place like home.

Leslie and Mitch's wedding was a lot of fun. Keaton didn't do so great during the pictures, but he did walk down the aisle (a little late) and was quiet during the ceremony. He lost it when Casey and I picked him up and walked back down the aisle because he just wanted his "Nana" De and no one else. Luckily he did better at the reception, and he ended up dancing his little booty off. He didn't want to stop! When Leslie and Mitch were supposed to have their first dance together, Keaton took off and ran in circles around them. We couldn't get him to stop. He was a dancing machine.

For Kyle's wedding, he was much better all the way around. He made it down the aisle, sat with us during the ceremony, and then went back down the aisle with the flower girl, Sydney, and waved at everyone like a little celebrity. :) He again ran circles around the bride and groom, and this time danced for 2 straight hours. All I could do was run out with a sippy cup of water and try to keep him hydrated. He wouldn't dance with anyone else, just bopped around by himself. He did attempt to do 'the worm' after he saw another guy do it. It was a fun night with friends and family. I think it's safe to say we all danced our booties off.

*****

Well, I started this blog entry about 2 weeks ago, and now I'm trying desperately to remember what's happened since then. My parents are on their way back to Kansas after another successful trip to Illinois. Casey is in Greece until Friday morning, so it was nice having them here to keep me sane. I hope I can keep it together for the next 3.5 days.

The past few days have been really hard. There have been moments of bliss, and moments of completely disarray. I feel like Keaton has these huge waves of emotion that will wash over him and almost drown the both of us. He's started hitting, pushing, kicking, etc., when he is in a 'mood'. Not fun, at all. Exhausting, actually. Yesterday he had two meltdowns which lasted at least 35 minutes a piece, and had another 30 minute one this morning. I have tried so many different approaches to them, and none of them work consistently. So I guess we are 110% into the Terrible Two stage now. People keep telling me I will miss this stage, but I don't see how I could miss a crying session that lasts the better part of an hour. I know, someday he will not be here and I will miss any kind of interaction with him. I know that will be hard, in a different way. But for now, I miss my sweet little boy. I see glimpses of him now and then, but when the bad mood strikes, nothing seems to calm him down. Breathe, Mommy... breathe.

Casey's had a bad connection almost every time he's tried to call from Greece, so we haven't gotten to talk very much. I'm sure that part doesn't really help how the past few days have gone. I knew today would be tough, and so far we're getting through it pretty well. Both the boys are sleeping right now, so I have a moment to clear my head. (Sigh.)

I want to end on a happier note: There are a few moments that I don't want to forget that have happened over the last few days. 1) I love it when Keaton says, "You wanna play with me, Mommy?" (How the heck do you say no to that??) 2) Keaton asked us all to hold hands the other night at the dinner table to say a prayer. We only usually pray when we say grace with Casey's family, so it was cute to see that he remembered. 3) We had a fun time playing outside yesterday in the cooler, less humid weather. Mom, Dad and I all took turns catching Keaton's new foam airplane. We would say, "Are you ready?" before each person caught it, in order to teach Keaton how to give people a heads up when he's playing with them. I think he really enjoyed it... and so did I. :) Keaton has also started giving me extra kisses when I tuck him in. I will be half-way out the door and he'll say, "Mommy, I wanna say night night and give kiss!" So I go back to his bed and he kisses me once on the mouth, and once on the cheek. So sweet. I need to remember this stuff when I'm completely overwhelmed by the TERRIBLE TWOS!

-Ash

UM... I kind of forgot to mention that we have gone one week now in "big boy undies" and he's getting down to only one accident each day! He wears a diaper when he sleeps. He's doing awesome! I'm really proud of him, and I think he's pretty proud of himself. Little man is growing up!!